Tips for cash

“Truckers spend more time on the road than anyone, so they know better than anyone the common sense advice to follow and pitfalls to avoid.” -Tom Corpus, product manager-commercial truck division of the Progressive Group of Insurance Companies.

Here‘s a contest every small fleet and owner-operator can sink their teeth into - offering tips gleaned from years of experience on the road in retrun for a shot at a grand prize worth $5,000 in cold hard cash.

That‘s what the Progressive Group of Insurance Companies is putting on the table as part of its marketing plan to raise awareness among small fleets and individual truck owners about the insurance products they offer.

“Everyone knows we sell automobile insurance, but few realize we sell truck insurance too,” Tom Corpus, product manager for Progressive‘s commercial truck division, told me recently. “We‘re one of the largest providers of truck insurance out there - predominantly for those operating 20 power units and under - yet we have only a 6% to 8% share of the market. Truckers are a large source of business for us and we think it‘s a good area for growth.”

Progressive began its marketing campaign earlier this year built around the “Truck Tips” concept: a strategy whereby truckers not only get exposed to the Progressive name, but also get a variety of business tips they can straightaway put to good use.

“We feel this contest is a way to create a dialog with them.” Corpus told me. “We basically take all comers in that ‘under-20‘ truck segment - experienced hands and well as those that just got their CDLs [commercial driver‘s license]. And we feel these tips are a good way to build our communication with the market.”

The contest works like this. First, submit your best truck tips online at the Progressive Truck Tips Web site in one of six categories -- Funny Tips; Fuel Savings Tips; On-the-Road Tips; On-the-Job Tips; Driving Tips; and Safety Tips. The winning truck tip gets $5,000 cash and will also be featured in a Progressive commercial auto insurance radio advertisement. In addition to the grand prize winner, there will be six category winners that get $500 each. The deadline for all truck tips submissions is March 31, 2009.

“We want to give [truckers] a chance to share their knowledge with other motor carriers, while giving them the opportunity to learn more about truck insurance,” says Corpus. “We also think it‘s an opportunity to show them what stands out about us - our claims service. We take pride in providing our own company-employed team of dedicated truck specialists who fly all over the country; we don‘t outsource claims service. That‘s our bread and butter, along with the right rates priced for the right risk.”